24742 New Product Management

Subject level: Postgraduate

Handbook description

This subject exposes students to the literature on, and the nature of, the marketing task involved in the development and launch of new products. Students are also required to carry out a project whereby a marketing feasibility study and strategy are developed for an actual new product innovation calling on knowledge gained in previous marketing subjects.

Subject objectives/outcomes

On successful completion of this subject students should be able to:

1. understand the role of new products in contemporary organisations
2. understand key issues in launching new products to market
3. learn the steps and phases involved in managing new products and services
4. gain sufficient knowledge to be able to coordinate new product projects
5. gain insights to the pitfalls which can occur during the new product cycle
6. gain insights how new products should be positioned in the market
7. positively contribute to new product teams
8. understand the critical role of branding in new product strategy.

Contribution to graduate profile

This subject explores the role and importance of new products and services in contemporary organisations. It will make students ware of both the internal and external aspects of managing a product or service through from idea generation to appropriate positioning in the market.

The course approach is to educate students in the fundamentals of new product process so that they are in a position to observe and evaluate how the new product process is managed in practice.

The subject will equip students with a sound understanding of what is involved in developing and launching a new product or service.

Teaching and learning strategies

Students will be encouraged to undertake research, study the literature and monitor the media on subjects related to new product management. By creating a broader perspective on the topic, class debate and student learning should be made more effective than if it was confined only to text material.

Each week the three hour session will be made up of a number of components which will emphasise student input and enhance the learning process. A typical week will consist of a combination of the following; a lecture, a student presentation on their own literature or field research findings, a team workshop. All of these activities will take place in an atmosphere of active discussion and debate.

Content

• Introduction to the subject including its aims and rationale
• Overview of the role of new products and services in achieving growth and maintaining relevance with both existing and new customers
• New product process
• Market positioning of new products
• Brand management and strategy
• The role of technology in new product management.

Assessment

Assessment item 1: New Product Review (Individual)

Assessment item 2: Group Assignment (Group)

Assessment item 3: Final Exam (Individual)

Required text(s)

Crawford CM and Benedetto, A, 2008, New Products Management, 9th edn, McGraw-Hill Irwin, Boston

'Guide to Writing Assignments', Faculty of Business, UTS (available from the Co-op Bookshop)

Indicative references

Business Fundamentals: New Product Development, second edition, Harvard Business school Publishing, HBS # 9896

Harvard Business Review on Innovation, 2001, Harvard Business School Publishing

Aaker DA 1991, Managing Brand Equity, The Free Press, New York

Best RJ, 2004, Market Based Management, Prentice Hall, New Jersey

deChernatony L, 2001, From Brand Vision to Brand Evaluation, Buterworth Heinemann, Oxford

Keller KL, 2003, Strategic Brand Management, Prentice Hall, New Jersey

Thomas RJ, 1993, New Product Development, John Wiley and Sons, New York

Urban GL and Hauser JR, 1993, Design and Marketing of New Products, Prentice Hall, New Jersey

Rust RT, Lemon KN and Narayandas D, 2005, Customer Equity Management, Person, New Jersey

Periodicals

Note: Journal of Product Innovation Management is shown as JPIM.

Mc Evily SK and Chakravarthy B, 2002, 'The Persistence of Knowledge Based Advantage: An Empirical Test for Product Performance and Technological

Knowledge', Strategic Management Journal, April

McMellon CA, 2005, Defending the Brand: Aggressive Strategies for Protecting Your Brand in the Online Arena, The Journal of Product and Brand Management, Vol 14, Issue 1, pp 75-78

Montaguti E, Kuester S and Robertson TS, 2002, 'Entry Strategy for Radical Product Innovations: A Conceptual Model and Propositional Inventory', International Journal of Research in Marketing, March

Sethi Rajesh, 2000, New Product Quality and Product Development Teams, Journal of Marketing, New York, April, Vol 64, pp 1-14

Reast JD, 2005, Brand Trust and Brand Extension Acceptance: The Relationship, The Journal of Product and Brand Management, Vol 14, Issue 1, pp 4-14.

Literature references

Students who are keen to further extend their knowledge of this area should also conduct their own original literature and media searches. Journals of particular focus are:

• Journal of Product Innovation Management
• Journal of Marketing
• Journal of Marketing Research
• European Journal of Marketing
• The Journal of Brand Management

Note: Richness of new thinking and research comes forth in the literature of journals and publications. Students wanting to achieve good grades in this subject must expect to spend considerable time researching, reading and integrating ideas into their own thinking and material from the textbook and lectures.